Western Philosophy in a Nutshell: Part I

For some reason, the ancient Greek thinkers started to explain the world. They began by criticizing the worldview inspired by the early Greek myths. Their philosophy was physical and cosmological: it described, in physical terms, how "God's house" (ie. our world) is built. This is why they are sometimes called philosopher scientists. From Thales, on through Anaximander, Heraclitus, Parmenides, Zeno, and Democritus, the modern theories of science evolved in ancient Greece. They developed nascent forms of two of modern sciences greatest achievements: the atomic theory and the heliocentric theory. This physical philosophy was stopped dead in its tracks, however, by the idealistic philosophy of Plato....